Reel for wire-drawing machines



Dec. 4, 1945;, J. KRAMER REEL WIRE DRAWING MACHINES Filed June '25, 1944 2 S he ets-Sheet 1 lnoeizfam' v [fiinzefg mamas 4, 1945. J. KRAMER I REEL FOR WIRE DRAWING MACHINES Filed June 26, 1944 2 sheets-sheet 2 be used in pairs, or it can be Patented Dec. 4, 1 945 UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE.

John Kramer,

American Steel Waukegan, 111., amino: to The and .Wire Company of New Jersey, a corporation of New Jersey Application June 26, 1944, Serial No. 542,041 3 Claims. (01: 242-128) In accordance with the present invention, there are provided certain improvements in a pay-oi! reel for metal wire, which is particularly advantageous for use in connection with high speed wire drawing machines.

The improved reel of the present invention can used singly. The reels are used in pairs in order to make it possible to operate a wire drawing machine continuously without necessitating the shut down of the machine when one bundle of wire becomes exhausted. when using a pair of reels iteis possible to weld the last end of the bundle of wire being paid-H to the leading end of a second bundle, so that when the last end or the first bundle is reached, the second bundle will start to pay-oil automatically without the necessity of stopping the wire drawing machine.

Revolving reels have been used for the purpose of holding the bundles of wire being drawn, but such revolving reels are open to the objection that they must be braked to prevent the reel from traveling at a, faster rate of speed than the wire drawing machine, and even when suitably braked, snarls and kinks of wire occur very frequently because of the freedom with which the convoiutions of the coil are allowed to remove themselves from the top of the bundle.

The present invention has for oneof its objects the provision of an improved pay-oil reel which will receive and support a coiled bundle of wire, I the improved reel embodying a construction wherein the top convolutions of the bundle are restrained continuously as the wire is paid-ofl from the bundle, this wire being unwound smoothly from the bundle under a controlled tension which provides uniformly smooth unwinding of the wire from the bundle, and delivers the wire tree from kinks and snarls to the processing machine.

The inventionwill be understood more readily by reference to the accompanying drawings, in

which Figure l is a plan view of the apparatus embodying the features of the present invention, the view showing a pair of reels of the improved construction, the left hand reel as viewed in mure 1 being shown in condition for receiving the bundle 0!- wire, while the right hand reel as viewed in Figure 1 is shown in assembled posiso Figure 2 is a sectional elevation taken on theline 11-11 of Figure 1, 'a portion thereof beins shown broken away;

Figure 3 is an enlarged elevation of one or i6 5 tributor instrumentalities plate slots 38 corresponding to is placed upon the improved reels of the present invention, showing a bundle-of wire on the reel with wire being withdrawn therefrom; and

Figure 4 is aperspective view showing wire disemployed in conjunction with the reel.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that each reel consists essentially of two units, A and B. Unit A consists of the fol'- lowing parts, arranged as shown:

A base plate 6 of unit A is provided, each reel there are provided as shown, six inverted U-shaped uprights 8. L-shaped members iii, which serve as supports for the bundles of wire, have their extremities welded to the base i and the outer legs or the inverted U.- shaped uprights 8. Positioned in the center of base plate 6 and equidistant from the inverted U-shaped uprights 8, is a rod member l2 which extends upwardly from the base plate 2. Unit B consists of an open cone-shaped member l-i made from oi which are arranged spokes it, which carry a hub cone ll. The bottom portion of the cone carries spokes and a hub 22.

Rotatably mounted on upper hub I8 is a payoil' arm 23 adjacent to the outer end of which is a shoe 24, which is pivoted at 26 to a bracket 28. Also mounted in bracket 28 is the looped wire guide 30 through the loops 32 of which passes the wire 34 from the bundle 36.

The bottom of the cone II is provided with the uprights 8 into which these uprights are received when the cone unit A. The bottom of the cone I4 is the small end, and the upwardly flaring side of the cone retains the turns of the bundle of wire 36 against uncontrolled movement, and prevents snarling and kinking of-the wire being unwound from the bundle.

The operation of the reel is as follows:

A loosely coiled bundle of wire is positioned over the inverted U-shaped uprights I of unit A, and the unit 13 composed of the cone i4 and the pay-oi! arm assembly turnably mounted on the upper hub ll of the cone I4, is placed on'the bundle oi wire as in Figure 3. The small end of the cone member ll, provided with the slots 3|, is placed downward and enters into the coiled bundle 3', engagement 7 of the coil II with the outwardly flaring side oi the cone member ll supporting the cone member whileth'eturns oiwireinthe coil 3' acreand for I sheet steel, across the open top I 18 at their inner ends, the outer ends of which spokes are welded to the top edge of the is indicated by the dotted lines tension exerted on the strained against uncontrolled movement by outwardly flaring side of the cone member it. The cone member I4 is placed on the coiled bundle of wire with the slots" aligned with the U-shaped uprights l. The L-shaped members I I form seats for the coil it upon which the coil 88 rests 42, made from brake lining. engaging the top edge l of the cone I 4, and rides on this top edge, convolutions of wire thus being unwound smoothly from the top of the coiled bundle 3|.

As the wire isunwound from the coiled bundle 3t, and the bundle thus diminishes in size, the cone member I 4. due to its own weight, drops as the coiled bundle thus diminishes in size, and maintains a constant uniform pressure on the upper convolutions of the bundle, thereby preventing snarls from forming in the wire as it is withdrawn.

I claim:

1. a reel adapted to hold a coiled bundle of wireand to supply wire from the said coiled bundle to a wire processing machine, which comprises in combination, a holding unit for receiving the coiled bundle of wire, and a compression unit for retaining the coiled bundle of wire against unrestrained movement tending to produce snarls and kinks in the wire, the holding unit including a base plate, a plurality of upstanding bundle-receiving members adapted to hold and to support a coiled bundle of wire placed thereon, and an upstanding guide member, and the compression unit including a compression member slidably mounted on the upstanding guide member of the holding unit, the said compression member being adapted to enter into the coiled bundle of wire on the holding unit and to exert a restraining pressure thereon for holding the wire in the bundle against uncontrolled movement and also being adapted to continuously follow the said bundle as it recedes responsively to wire being unwound therefrom for continuously exerting uniform pressure on the wire, and means for unwinding the wire from the coiled bundle responsively to wire by the wire processing machine. 7

2. A reel adapted to hold a coiled bundle oi wire and to supply wire from the said coiled bundle to a wire processing machine, which comprises, in combination, a non-rotative holding unit for receiving the coiled bundle of wire, and a compression unit for retaining the coiled bundle of to produce snarls and ing unit including a plurality of upstanding inverted U-shaped bundle-receiving members adapted to hold and to support a coiled bundle of wire placed thereon, a base for mounting the said members in'spaced relation, and an upwire against unrestrained movement tending kinks in the wire, the holdrestraining standin guide member mounted on the said base equidistant from the inverted U-shaped bundlereceiving members. the compression unit including an inverted frusto-conical non-rotative compression member slidably mounted on the upstanding guide-member oi the holding unit, the said inverted cone-shaped being adapted to enter into the coiled, bundle of wire on the holding imit and to exert a restraining pressure thereon for holding the wire in the bundle against uncontrolled movement, and also adapted to continuously follow the said bundle as it recedes responsively to wire being unwound therefrom for continuously exerting uniform repressure on the wire, there being slots in the lower end of the inverted irusto-conical compression member for registering with the inverted U-shaped bundle-receiving members for enabling the compression member to seat on the said bundle receiving members during unwinding of last portions of the coiled bundle of wire, and rotary means mounted on the compression member for unwinding wire from the coil responsively to tension imparted by the wire processing machine.

3. A reel adapted to hold a coiled bundle of wire andto supply wire from the saidjcoiled bundle to a wire processing machine, which-comprises, in combination, a non-rotative holding unit for receiving the coiled bundle of wire and a compression unit for retaining the coiled bundle of wire against unrestrained movement tending to produce snarls and kinks in the wire, the holding unit including a plurality of upstanding inverted U-shaped bundle-receiving members adapted to hold and to support a coiled bundle of wire placed thereon, a base for mounting the said members'in spaced relation, means associated with the said U-shaped bundle-receiving members for forming seats for the said coiled bundle of wire for elevating the bundle from the said base, and an upstanding guide member mounted on the said base equidistant from the inverted U-shaped bundle-receiving members, the compression unit including an inverted irustoconical compression member slidably mounted on the upstanding guide member of the holding unit, the said inverted frusto-conical compression member being adapted to enter into the coiled bundle of wire on the holding unit and to exert a restraining pressure thereon for holding the wire in the bundle against uncontrolled movement, and also adapted to continuously follow the said bundle as it recedes responsively to wire being unwound therefrom for continuously exerting uniform restraining pressure on the wire, an upper hub on the inverted frusto-conical compression member, slots in the lower end of the said compression member for engaging the inverted U-shaped bundle-receivin members for enabling the compression member to seat on the said bundle-receiving members during unwinding of last portions of the coiled bundle of wire, and an unwinding arm rotatably mounted on the hub and actuated by tension applied to the wire by the wire processing machine for unwinding wire from the coiled bundle.

. JOHN compression member 

